INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Stephen Curry didn’t need this, didn’t have anything to prove. All those months Curry spent rehabbing a troublesome right knee, putting in the work, Draymond Green said, “and not getting results.” He didn’t need to muscle his way back into the Warriors’ lineup in the final four games of the season, didn’t need to force his body to be ready for the play-in tournament, didn’t need to be playing 36 minutes to keep Golden State’s faint hopes alive. Yet there was Curry, inside Intuit Dome on Wednesday, scoring 35 points against the Clippers, 27 in the second half, powering the Warriors to a 126–121 win.
“Everybody out there who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off,” said Steve Kerr, tapping his fist on a table. “This is what he does. This is who he is.”
What a win. What a game. What a tournament. If you don’t like the play-in tournament, you don’t like fun. You hate Christmas, can’t stand puppies and think Disney World is lame. You drink White Claw and think Die Hard is a lousy movie. The NBA’s play-in tournament has yielded four of the best games of the season, with two more still to come.
Wednesday’s game was the crown jewel of the play-in, a win-or-go-home, star-driven matchup between big-market teams. And did it deliver. The Clippers controlled the game for three quarters, building double-digit leads in each of them. Kawhi Leonard was cooking, Bennedict Mathurin was getting buckets off the bench. Every time Golden State cut into L.A.’s lead, the Clippers were quick to rebuild it.
In the fourth, Curry went off. The Warriors were down 10 when Curry reentered the game in the fourth quarter. Fewer than two minutes later, the lead was whittled to three. Curry scored 11 points in the quarter, connecting on four of his six attempts, including two of his three three-pointers.
“If he can compete, he’s going to compete,” said Kerr. “And it was just incredible to watch.”
He had help. Injuries limited Kristaps Porziņģis to 15 games this season. On Wednesday, the Warriors were reminded why they got him. Porziņģis scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He scored six points in six minutes in the fourth. Asked to explain how Porziņģis was able to get going, Kerr said, “He’s a great player.”
Al Horford scored two points in the first three quarters. During timeouts, Curry and Green encouraged Horford. This is what you do, Curry told him. Horford responded with 12 points in the fourth, burying four threes that helped the Warriors pull ahead.
“What Al did tonight is one of the most difficult things to do in sports,” said Kerr. “When you’re having a rough night through three quarters to just flip it and all of a sudden start draining shots and making defensive plays. And he completely turned his own performance around.”
Then there is Green. He played 35 minutes, all of them on Leonard. Leonard’s final stat line—21 points, seven rebounds—was fine. In the fourth quarter, he scored two. He took two shots. No threes. He didn’t get to the free throw line.
With less than a minute left Green stole Mathurin’s inbound pass. Two possessions later he picked Leonard’s pocket. Over the last eight minutes Green put one of the NBA’s best offensive players in a straitjacket. “Hall of Fame defender,” said Leonard. “It was hard to even get shots up.”
Said Green, “It’s an honor to play against a great, all-time great in Kawhi Leonard. And as a competitor, you just want to do your best. Not every day do I get to go home and say, ‘Yo, I played Kawhi Leonard tonight.’ He’s a special, special player.”
Inside Golden State’s locker room, no one was surprised. Green feeds on these matchups, said Curry. “The level of impact he had was incredible,” said Curry. “I’m falling short on the words to describe it.” Added Kerr, “He’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s just insane what he does out there.”
For two days Green stressed his matchup with Leonard. Leonard is a three-level scorer, one of the most versatile offensive players in the game. He isn’t selfish, has no wasted motion, can fill it up from all over the floor. But these are the moments Green relishes, the matchups with the greats. And to show the world he can still win them.
“There will never be a person that I would want to prove more to than myself,” said Green. “The same people that say I lost a step said I never had a step. They’re the same people that said I would never make it and I should be out the NBA and I ride a coattail. And the list goes on and on. Those are the same people. So ultimately, when you step on the floor, this is competition. You want to be your best.”
For more than a decade Kerr has watched Green get stops on one end and Curry finish plays on the other. Even now, at 38, Curry remains inimitable. “I’m just having fun,” Curry said, though when he is out on the floor no one else is. “Thirty did what 30 does,” Clippers guard Darius Garland said after the game, which is perhaps the best way to sum up yet another signature performance.
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of moments like [this],” said Curry. “And the work that goes into it, honestly, that’s the only real answer. Just because you can’t choreograph any of it. It’s just if I see some daylight, shoot it, have confidence and hope that you’re prepared for those opportunities.”
On to Phoenix now, to another elimination game, to another chance to keep this once snakebitten season alive. Championships have not diminished the hunger of this core, injuries have done little to diminish the belief that if they get into a seven-game series with top seed Oklahoma City, they can come out the winner. Because on one end they have a defender who can stop any scorer. And a scorer who can’t be stopped by anyone.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vintage Stephen Curry and Draymond Green Remind Everyone Why This Duo Still Works.
